


Fed-XCOM, Monoculture Hell, and Textiles: XCOM Worldbuilding and Character Meta

by follyofyouth



Category: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Archived From Tumblr, Archived from trbl-will-find-me blog, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 04:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16866109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/follyofyouth/pseuds/follyofyouth
Summary: A series of worldbuilding and character development mini-essays from the XCOM reboot. A mix of pre- and post-WOTC release.





	1. Media Matters: ADVENT and Monoculture Hell

**Author's Note:**

> These were originally housed at trbl-will-find-me on Tumblr. Given the events over there, I've moved them here for preservation.

Today, we’re yelling about human culture, alien monoculture, and questions that need answering.

As always, what we have from the game:  
  
-ADVENT seems to have done its best to create this new world monoculture. Food architecture, iconography, hell, even language. They’re all standardized now, no matter where you’re operating in the globe. They’ve worked to demonize the world that was, with all of its distinctive cultural features, and work to elevate this bland monolith they’ve got going on. Some of this is the nature of game design, I know, but christ.  
  
\- They’ve tied themselves (and this manufactured culture) to the “improvements” of life under the Elders. To be fair, some of these improvements are pretty great. If gene therapy has eliminated things like MS, ALS, DIPG, then that’s pretty amazing --- the cost is just so high.  
  
\- It goes beyond just secular culture, though. The churches we see feature ADVENT imagery. Concept art shows megachurch like facilities prosthelytizing the Elders. This is ... creepy, to say the least.  
\- By imposing this monoculture, they’ve created a culture of what they call ‘unity’ --- but might more accurately be labeled conformity.  
  
Now, we jump off a little bit.  
  
Havens are a rejection of the ADVENT ethos. They are small, messy, and ramshackle. They are also likely some of the last vestiges of individual cultures. We see havens with XCOM posters, including the original anti-alien decal from the Skyranger. They are growing their own food. While the writing we see is in English, it is definitely not the writing system we see in the city centers, and one could assume (reasonably) that writing is still localized to the language of the region.  
Havens are, to some extent, growing their own food. Crops vary wildly by biome, so havens are also likely a holdout of regional, traditional foods. #locavore

Havens also still, I would wager, have human religions. I flat out refuse to believe that, especially in cases of persecuted religions like Judaism, everyone was collectively Fine And Dandy with their beliefs being supplanted by the weird alien cult. Just, no. Preservation and continued observation of earth’s religions in havens should be A Thing.  
  
I would like to believe that they are also a place where traditional art forms, music and the like are still practiced when feasible. Anything that is productive and demonstrative of the cultures of the area that was? Yeah, I’d like to believe that still goes on.  
  
Now, we get to the questions I can’t answer, the things that are driving me bonkers:  
  
\- The fuck happened to earth’s existing media? Have aliens wiped it our or is it allowed to exist for its ability to demonstrate the “mistakes of the Old World?” I’d really like to know, because man, the sci fi fans should have realized something was up. Alien, Soylent Green, and all five seasons of The Twilight Zone exist on DVD and all have some Pointed Thoughts About Shit ADVENT Is Doing. There were WARNINGS.  
  
-Did ADVENT just ... hit the internet quickly? Because even if the mainstream news media was reporting ADVENT as our saviors, I’m pretty sure citizen journalism (even with all of its problems) would have been able to provide some pretty compelling evidence to the contrary. Nobody looks at a video of a chryssalid ripping a person to ribbons and thinks ‘yeah, this seems totally benevolent.’ But, if they knocked out the internet, it’s harder to get word to travel quickly.

-Also, losing the internet would probably be the modern equivalent of the Library at Alexandria burning. There is so much information that is easily accessible there that is much _much_ more difficult to access in other forms, if not impossible for large swaths of the population. If you were trying to warp and control the narrative, though, you’d have to get rid of the easy ways to find information that contradicts your version.  
  
-Hey, speaking of warnings, what happened to books? Actual books. Because, again, we had a sample of Red Flags to draw from. War of the Worlds, 1984 and Brave New World come to mind as works that should have been a good tip off that Hey, Something Is Not Right. But seriously, so many YA dystopias. Did none of them survive? Did ADVENT burn everything? And anyone who knew about these works? What happened here? I have the uncomfortable feeling that, as ADVENT warped history, books went in the burn pile because HOW ELSE DO YOU GASLIGHT THE ENTIRE WORLD.  
  
-This is less pressing, but where are the art museums? Where are the great artworks of the world that was? All we see is ADVENT’s weird abstract paintings and their (admittedly, pretty good) propaganda. We see some stencil graffiti, so apparently that survived but, uh. Where is everything else? Did ADVENT burn Starry Night? Because if ADVENT burned Starry Night, I am Going To Be Unhappy.

-Also, less pressing, but important: What is the state of music? Do we still have rock’n’roll? Is it about things that are not ADVENT and our Benevolent Alien Saviors? Can someone still lay in the dark and blare David Bowie’s Space Oddity? W H A T H A P P E N E D, F I R A X I S?  
  
-Media that HAS survived: what form is it in? I have a terrible feeling paper books would fall prey to kindling during cold winters, but maybe not. Are we looking at dvds? Zip drives? Secret caches on the ADVENT network? How is it accessed? Is it preserved? Who’s preserving it? I need to know. I need to know if Central made Menace team watch a pirated copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark after they were all confused why the Commander lost it at “Vipers. Why did it have to be vipers?” I need to know if the Commander, upon crossing the psionic gateway, informed Central that they had a feeling they were “not in Kansas anymore” and if the rest of the team got the joke.  
  
-Not a question, but more a for your consideration: Havens in living history museums. The buildings are there. They have fireplaces. They are not usually in densely populated areas. They are comparatively resource-rich. They are sometimes really, really cool. Ship-based haven at Mystic Seaport in CT. Cross-time period havens in Strawberry Banke, NH and Greenfield Village in MI. It could be great.


	2. Cockeyed Optimist: Central Officer John Bradford

Let’s not mince words here. Central’s spent the better part of the twenty year interlude between EU/EW and XCOM 2 in a not great place. Tygan notes he’s developed a ‘fondness for distilled spirits’ and Central himself makes reference to reaching out to “that hustler who runs the Black Market for help in restocking the bar.”

And, honestly, who could blame the man? The organization he’s so clearly dedicated to lies in ruin, along with many of his friends and colleagues. The Commander, the person in whom he puts a tremendous amount of trust and to whom he shows extreme loyalty, is MIA. The aliens have not only taken over, but in doing so, they’ve managed to smear XCOM’s efforts to repel the invasion in the first place. So, it doesn’t feel great to be him. It’s no wonder there’s such a change from the Bradford of EU/EW to the man we meet in XCOM 2; he’s still recognizable, but life has taken its toll.  
  
There are two quotes that stand out to me as I start my second WOTC playthrough. Taken in juxtaposition, they offer an interesting portrait:  
  
 **Central** : I can see the appeal of the ADVENT therapy clinic. Few minutes under the knife and you’ve got a clean bill of health. Too bad you need a chip to get in.

It’s a randomly triggered dialogue on board the Avenger, and I was really surprised the first time I heard it. To put it mildly, long term heavy drinking has consequences. Serious consequences. Central’s not talking about a fountain of youth; he’s talking about a basic clean bill, which, while I do not think this is what Firaxis intended, could open the doors to some questions about just how well Bradford’s holding up. Especially given how wistful he sounds.

The second quote comes from a debate Central and Tygan have, another randomly triggered event. I wasn’t fast enough to transcribe it all, but this gist is ‘what can the Resistance offer those in the City Centers?’ Tygan highlights gene therapy as ADVENT’s trump card (pardon the phrase, my American friends), and Central counters with this:  
  
 **Central:** You’re wrong, Doctor. We can offer them freedom. They just have to endure the pains of being human.  
  
Of course, we have Central’s steadfast devotion to his ideals (which is good, because we Commanders would still be in the tank without him) and a belief that those ideals can stand up to some serious temptation. He’s willing to stick by them --- and he’s willing to believe that, given the chance, other people will stick by them too, even when doing so isn’t easy.

It’s a nice piece of writing, a great ‘show, don’t tell’ moment about Central and his ultimate faith in people. For as much as he has been battered and bruised (and he has!), as much as he has had his hopes dashed and heart broken (the vilification of XCOM, false leads on the Commander, lost friends), and as much as he still has to put up with(man, some of JULIAN’s comments during Last Gift are COLD), he is still willing to get up, to put down the bottle, to keep up the fight.   
  
Chip away at the veneer, and you find EU/EW’s Boy Scout there, still intact. Just a little worse for the wear.


	3. Who's running this show, anyway? XCOM, Havens, and Who's in Command

\- In EU/EW, Central ran XCOM’s day-to-day operations, including monitoring the comms. He’s still doing this in XCOM 2, and he’s also taken on some kind of logistics role for the havens at large.  
  
-In EU/EW, XCOM served at the pleasure of the Council and the Spokesman relayed their will. In XCOM 2, XCOM serves at the pleasure of ??? and the Spokesman is there, relaying _someone’s_ will.

-Not everyone trusts the Spokesman. Central does, but he also points out that, given everything else, they’ve got bigger problems than a man on the screen. 

\- Earth runs under some kind of ‘Big Brother’ totalitarian hellscape government. ADVENT has control over everything — and has folded religion in right along with it.The majority of the surviving population is okay with this. However, we know that, at some point, anti-ADVENT demonstrations _did_ happen. Whether they died down with the construction of city centers and gene therapy clinics, were quashed by abducting the leading voices, or some combination of the two is up for interpretation.

-In addition to our main resistance faction, we also have the Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars. They don’t seem to be as connected to the civilian side of things as XCOM, but I’ll update this post (or make a new one) once WOTC drops.

So, we’re left with some fairly big questions:  
  
\- How was the primary resistance network founded and how is it governed?  
\- How do the individual havens fit into this overall network?  
\- How many people know of the Spokesman’s involvement?  
  
Let’s try to tackle these in order.  
  
When XCOM fell, its surviving operatives and staff were left to scatter and scramble. As the aliens took hold, and XCOM’s efforts were demonized as hostile actions against benevolent saviors, those survivors probably needed to exercise additional caution. The risk of raising red flags was high and their numbers almost certainly took a hit. However, these survivors also likely took the risk and formed the backbone of the initial resistance movement, organizing the first haven. 

That first haven was likely small and hard-scrabble — it had to be. Even flying under the radar, they needed to be careful. The first haven residents were likely former XCOM personnel and their families, people who had seen the aliens’ true nature early on. While this haven would go on to become Resistance HQ, it had a long way to go — this helps to explain the availability of skilled medical and engineering labor available (as suggested by the Rapid Construction/Medical Assistance bonuses), as well as the relative safety of Resistance Headquarters (as suggested by the fact that they managed to renovate a giant alien ship without ADVENT murdering everyone).

XCOM operatives who chose to leave the base country (and HQ) for their native lands likely followed suit in establishing these havens in their own countries, joined by other skeptics, survivors, and the like. 

Central wasn’t willing to deal with a leadership role in all of this. It wasn’t where he felt he could be the most useful. Instead, he went back to his roots: you don’t serve in military intelligence and not learn something about information gathering. He was the first set of eyes and ears for the resistance, the first to start connecting rumors or the individual cells. He is also likely the person the Spokesman made first contact with upon taking the position within ADVENT.  
  
Where Central _is_ highly involved with HQ is in coordinating supplies and movement. That man did not handle the day-to-day of XCOM 1.0 and XCOM 2.0 without having a good head for logistics. He is, unofficially, Chief Logistics Officer of the Resistance at large (hence, Den Mother’s bit about the water purifier) — though he’d balk at the title. 

But, who’s actually running the Resistance?  
  
I wish I had a better answer. Here are my assumptions and the reasons behind them:  
  
\- It’s not a single entity. Bradford mentions that there are skeptics in the movement, those who doubt the Spokesman’s true intentions, but that he believes the other man’s intentions are what they appear. We get two interesting pieces of information from this: group consensus has an impact, and Central carries some social currency. The doubters are not large enough in number to have inspired a ‘policy change’ with regards to trusting the Spokesman’s intel.  
  
\- It’s not the Spokesman. Aside from the whole ‘no single enemy’ bit, haven dwellers are already leery of ADVENT. It’s not likely they’d follow a man who had ADVENT ties. Besides, talk about blowing your cover…  
  
-There is an element of democracy involved. No single person could arrange for the supplies and manpower to retrofit the Avenger. Living under a totalitarian shit government wouldn’t exactly engender a lot of faith in the one ruler model, anyway — not when that person could decree where you went and went.  
  
Hold onto this, because we’ll circle back in a minute.  
  
At the individual haven level, I’d imagine that everyone over a certain age gets a say. If you live there, you have a right to a voice in what happens. It’s your community, your resources, and at the extreme, your life on the line. On the whole, it’s a majority rules system.  
  
Havens, as a group, probably work on a very decentralized model. Mutual aid is the name of the game, but what that aid entails varies — sometimes even month to month. Haven A and Haven B are relatively close. Haven A just barely has enough food for a surplus this winter. Haven B was hit with floods and is going to be short. Haven A votes on whether or not send that surplus — and if so how much. The next month, Haven A gets hit HARD by ADVENT, losing people and most of their food stash. Haven B takes a vote on whether to take Haven A’s survivors in and integrate them with the community. Haven B votes down taking survivors because they can’t — they are stretched too thin — but turns to Haven C. It’s not close, but the security is good and they need more hands. They vote to take Haven A’s survivors.

The leaders of the Resistance, then, are its members themselves. While there is probably a central point of contact at HQ and in each of the havens, they serve as relays rather than sole decision makers. Requests like VIP extracts are likely generated at local levels, and based on local intelligence.

That poses the question of how does the Resistance work to protect the Spokesman’s identity and, for that, I point you to Central Officer John Bradford, Military Intelligence. I’d hazard that there are four people who know the ADVENT mole is the Spokesman: Central, the Commander, Shen, and Tygan — Shen found out early on (largely due to the fact that Central was certain she could be trusted) whereas Tygan was only more recently queued in. Central plays any information about him very close to the chest. When the Spokesman contacts the Commander for the final time, it is likely the first time the bridge staff at large has ever seen him since other transmissions are through the Commander’s quarters. For everyone else, he exists as a codename, and detail about him is scant. 

With any luck, the radio in WOTC will add new detail. If we’re _really lucky,_ maybe we’ll get new canon about this.


	4. Resistance Supply Chains aka Fed-XCOM

Here’s what we know: the Avenger is a pretty big ship. We can assume two things from this: Resistance HQ had to be relatively safe (as getting the ship renovated and flight ready was not a quick process) and well supplied (as getting the ship renovated and flight ready while providing for the people behind that work was not a resource-lite process). 

We also can assume, from the Medical Assistance and Rapid Construction bonuses, that HQ has medical practitioners (including pharmacists), engineers, skilled laborers (e.g. plumbers, electricians, etc.), and the supplies to support those groups in some capacity. 

Since HQ can spare people to work with XCOM, and provides a base monthly parcel of supplies, we can assume that they have a surplus of goods and workers. It may not be a _huge_ surplus, but it’s there. It’s also safe to assume that HQ is probably a smidge cushier than many havens, at least in terms of resources. Don’t get me wrong —  no one’s living in a two story house with central air and a backyard pool, but you’re more likely to find some antibiotics and sufficient clean water to down them with. This would also suggest that HQ is likely larger than many of the havens.   
  
Given that havens are spread across the world, each settlement (including HQ) likely has access to different resources: growing oranges is a lot easier in, say, Florida or California, than along the northern English coast. Settlement size can also greatly impact how much of those resources is available. Whether you’re raiding ADVENT transports or growing staple crops, you can push for larger yields when you have more help (alternatively: a supply raid going badly and getting five people killed in a settlement of 50 has a greater impact than on a settlement of 150. Both are still bad, but losing 10% of your people is different than losing 3%). In other words, different havens have different needs and offerings, based on where they are and how big their population is.

When you build a radio relay in a region, it’s ability to contribute goes up dramatically. Why? Well, I’d argue it’s because the havens in that region can suddenly communicate and coordinate with others. This allows for a better flow of information and goods (thanks to XCOM, official delivery service of the Resistance). With the Avenger flying all around the world, it makes sense that they’re ferrying goods (and people!) along their routes. This means that nutritional deficiencies get met. Medicine moves a lot faster. The extra plating they nabbed from that heist outside of Casablanca? It can go the that little haven outside of Oslo. The pharmacist from Nairobi brings with them a crapton of doxycycline — which goes along way to combating the Lyme epidemic running rampant through the eastern US havens. The engineering team that built the water purification system from gear salvaged from the ruins of Mumbai can do the same thing for the haven outside of Yangzhou. When needs are being met, there’s less downtime. Less downtime means you’re able to do/contribute more.   
  
This also probably helps the havens grow. Even if you have misgivings about ADVENT, even serious ones, it’s hard to forsake the city centers for the havens when you’re missing guarantees of staples like clean water, food, and shelter. Once those things start being resolved, leaving starts to look easier.

So, by the time you’re late game and have linked the majority of regions, of course you’re drowning in supplies. Everyone’s quality of life has risen. While people still aren’t _flocking_ to the areas outside of ADVENT control, those areas are looking a little more feasible, a little less death by dearth of clean water.


	5. The XCOM Textiles Saga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was, effectively, how I introduced myself to the fandom for the first time. The first two parts of this saga are preserved here.

I have been thinking too much about XCOM 2′s worldbuilding and textiles and costuming and now you have to suffer with me.

\- Has knitting/crocheting as a leisure activity just … gone out the window? At least with regard to natural fibers? You don’t have wool, merino, cashmere, alpaca, etc. without domesticated livestock to harvest it from.

-And what about plant fibers? There are areas of the world where, air conditioning or no, your life is going to be a lot more comfortable in cotton or linen than a synthetic. Is it just private civilians who can’t maintain crops, or is that everyone? And, if ADVENT is growing fiber crops, who’s taking care of those crops and harvesting them? Mass manufactured laborers? Political prisoners? Paid laborers?

-And while we’re on that topic, even synthetic fibers have to come from somewhere. Rayon is a cellulose base. Tencel is wood pulp. Where is ADVENT getting the raw materials?

-Yes, there are some fibers that are easier to make without those kinds of materials. Neoprene and nylon immediately come to mind. Mind you, nylon is pretty versatile — if I had to hazard a guess, Central’s shirt, and the main bridge staff uniform/around the Avenger uniform is probably nylon. It’s moisture wicking. It dries quickly.

 

\- Looking at Central (hellooooo, Central), we’ve got a shirt that is almost certainly a nylon or nylon blend (based on the fit and the way it’s textured in game); synthetic gloves (nylon/spandex/neoprene are all good bets here); and nylon webbing. I am *almost* certain, though, that the pants are cotton. I also wouldn’t rule out the belt being cotton webbing. HOW ARE YOU GETTING COTTON, ADVENT? WHAT IS YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN LIKE FOR THAT?

-Wait, wait, while we’re on the topic of Central’s costuming, I need to talk about Gatecrasher here, because there’s a little bit of brilliance in their textile/costuming choices.

 

 

 

Check out that coat. It’s almost certainly a wool/wool blend. It’s cut and collar are visually similar to US Navy peacoats (which throws me for a loop a bit because I would have told you Central was Army, but I digress):

 

 

 

 

While this isn’t exact, the distance read is close enough: this is Old World. When we look at the other people Central’s in line with, he stands out because of this. Everyone else is pretty much in synthetics with much more streamlined cuts.

 

 

Gatecrasher, as an op, is not subtle. It **is** ‘fuck you, we’re here, and we’re taking the commander.’ Arguably, ‘fuck you, we’re here’ is a good summary of Central’s MO in many things, and it’s carried through nicely in his costuming for this.

-Of course, we can’t talk Gatecrasher costuming without talking Jane Kelly.

 

 

Jane has lots of the subtlety Bradford’s outfit lacks, but she still doesn’t totally fit in. Namely, that vest. Take a look at it. While I’m not sure about the material (part of me thinks it’s a nylon, part of me thinks it’s a treated leather), the cut isn’t streamlined. It doesn’t have the ‘futuristic’ sensibility of lots of the other costumes.

-Okay, back to curmudgeoning:

 

 

WHO IS SEWING XCOM’S UNIFORMS? HOW DOES XCOM HAVE UNIFORMS? Lemme tell you, those are hard. The cutting alone would be really labor intensive. Unless you’re a tailor/seamstress, getting those seams and pipings just right every time is gonna be a bear. Like, the only way those are being made, especially with what appears to be sewn in kevlar or plating, is by someone with a very special skillset and toolset. Did the resistance just … seduce a bunch of tailors and armor makers? It makes no sense!

XCOM should, for better or worse, be looking a lot less like a miitary org than they do. They’ve rustled up people from wherever, and those people have brought clothes and armor from wherever. Having matching, very involved uniforms is not a thing that makes sense for, in Central’s own words, an “upstart resistance.”

Given everything I just yelled about, let’s make some broad assumptions here:  
  
-ADVENT is growing fiber crops (and other crops, too). They are probably (probably) either in controlled greenhouses or in spaces fairly far off from population centers. I’m gonna assume they are tended by some sort of agriculture MEC because nothing else really makes sense.

-ADVENT is also running fiber mills and textile production facilities. Looms are **massive** and require some know-how to set up — not to mention a not insignificant amount of time. While your re-enactors and artisans will know how to do that, they’re won’t be a lot of space for looms and they won’t have their tools. It’s not reasonable for resistance havens to have that capability.

-Havens in remote areas where it didn’t pay ADVENT to go in and wipe everyone out/set up city centers are more likely to have fiber-producing animals e.g. mountainous areas of Peru with alpacas, remote areas of Tibet and yaks, Northern Canada and muskoxen (yes, really, muskoxen). In these areas, especially, you’re more likely to find people who know how to turn the raw fiber into something that is more easily worked with. There are lots of people who spin — and it doesn’t require a wheel. Drop spindles are a thing! And are a lot more portable. This allows for yarn, which allows for hats/gloves/scarves/sweaters/etc. You can also felt some fibers! While I’m not sure just how feasible it would be to wet felt large quantities of wool into continuous pieces of wool felt, doing many smaller pieces and patchworking it together _is_ feasible.

\- Most clothing among the havens has been (a) stolen off of ADVENT transports, (b) bartered for among havens, © been passed down from before the Invasion, (d) come from raided houses/shops/other pre-Invasion locations, or (e) been made within the havens. Hand sewing is a skill that can be taught/passed on/learned from other resources. Of all the jumps to make, it’s reasonable that, in twenty years, a knowledge of hand crafting has taken hold in the havens.  
  
SO, THEREFORE…

-WRT to XCOM specifically, assume that there is no uniform. Not a real one, anyway, until you get around to predator armor. Lily’s tee shirt? Is probably custom screen or block printed. Volunteers are showing up with whatever they’ve got. So, what is that likely to be? Hiking/outdoors clothing is a good guess here. Synthetic and designed to be layered. There’s also the option for waterproof layers. Being able to keep moving while being dressed for the weather is key. This is almost certainly raided from pre-Invasion or stolen off of ADVENT. While giant puffy sleeping bag coats are great when you don’t have to be super mobile, they won’t be as helpful when you’re traipsing around.  
  
Tactical gear is probably most akin to this:

AKA surplus tactical webbing/harnesses raided, again, from pre-Invasion sites or stolen from ADVENT.

This still fits with most of what we’ve been given. Look at Lily, Central, and Tygan. Lily and Central, who have been on the run for the better part of twenty years, mostly look it. Tygan is a product of the city centers, and that is likewise reflected in his outfit (even as it still references back to Vahlen’s look in EU/EW).

~~And it’s no worse than the Anarchy’s Children armor because jfc chryssalid shoulder spikes.~~


	6. A Guide To Dressing Your Upstart Resistance

XCOM, logically, should not have a ‘uniform,’ per se. Central, Shen, Tygan, and haven civilians are all great examples of how, given the constraints of ADVENT, people on the fringe dress (i.e. they throw together what’s available and adapt it as necessary).  
  
\- ADVENT is still, logically, producing and refining raw materials into commercial textiles. From what we see in game, many of these textiles appear to be synthetic in nature. Mass manufactured clothing still exists.

\- If you aren’t in a city center, you have five potential ways to get clothing:  
(1) stolen off of ADVENT transports  
(2) bartered for among havens  
(3) been passed down from before the Invasion  
(4) come from raided houses/shops/other pre-Invasion locations  
(5) been made within the havens (e.g. knit, crochet, hand sewn)

\- Ready? Let’s go.  
  
Living off grid, for our purposes, means dressing for that outdoors/hiking life, yo. What that functionally means will depend on climate.

In general, synthetic fabrics over natural. Synthetics dry faster and will wick moisture. I pestered my resident outdoormsan (Pacific Northwest & Central PA backpacker) into some basic guidelines.  
  
-The goal is never to be too hot or too cold, especially if you’re in a cooler environment. Layers are your friend.

That means, if you’re in colder climates:  
-Synthetic base layer, top and bottom:  
-Synthetic tee shirt  
-Synthetic long sleeve shirt  
-Middle jacket (e.g. a fleece)  
-Shell (heavy wind & waterproof jacket)

The colder it is, the more layers you’ll want or want to have available — and no one’s exactly living in the lap of luxury.  
  
-But that’s an ideal. Practically, you may not be able to get all of that. In which case, your intrepid XCOM volunteer/haven dweller is going to want wool. Wool is warm, it breathes, and it will hold heat even when wet. There’s a reason it’s been such a useful fiber through history. Hell, even as a non-outdoorsy person, I have had wool socks come in real handy when my boots leaked in the middle of a very slushy, snowy New York City afternoon. Wool undergarments, sweaters, coats, socks, etc. have historically been important in dealing with the cold. While you’ll still need layers, and will still want synthetics, wool is a nice option — except when you really, really need it to dry quickly.

\- You’ll also need to be able to have waterproof layers. This is really important for both hot and cold climates — sitting in wet things for extended periods of time is … not great. Tim O’Brien’s works, including _Going After Cacciato_ and _The Things They Carried,_ touch on what happens when you’re dealing with hot and wet in clothes that don’t dry quickly. Spoiler alert: it ain’t pleasant. For overcoats, if you can’t get synthetics, garbardine, oil cloth, or waxed canvas may also offer some amount of protection.

-Yes, in theory, you could cut apart a lot (a _lot_ ) of umbrellas and piece them back together as a coat/tarp, if need be. It would be time consuming and you would need a pattern or someone who knew how to drape. Not beyond possibility, though.

\- In warmer climates, there is both the concern of needing protective clothing and clothing that won’t overheat you. Again, the primary answer here is synthetics. Historically, however, linen and cotton have also been useful in these climates. But again, linen and cotton aren’t moisture wicking. Please see the above point about extended time in wet things.

So, other than hiking/outdoors gear, what else will be useful and _available_ where clothing is concerned? Vintage militaria and military surplus. These things are made tough and would be available from raiding homes, stores — hell, even museums, if you’re alright with that. They’ll wear well and won’t wear out, assuming they can be cared for sort of properly.

Underfunded resistance is also probably relying on pre-Invasion tactical webbing and kevlar fabric/plating for its armor — when it can be found. It’s probably a pretty significant luxury; almost no one in the havens would have it.

Accessories, theoretically, have a lot of room for personalization, especially as they’re more likely to be made in havens or be survivors from the pre-Invasion days. Hats, scarves, gloves, etc. offer more room and flexibility in terms of what you can get away with.

Given all this variety, one thing emerges: man, are matching uniforms gonna be hard to pull off. You *can* make hand-embroidered patches, and having one of those for each crew member is feasible — and is probably the closest thing ot matchy-matchy you’ll get under the constraints Firaxis has imposed.

tl;dr Hiking and outdoors gear. Military surplus. Fit in wild/ridiculous things as necessary. Turn your upstart resistance into a hodge podge of sensible outdoors gear and whatever they can fish from the annals of fashion history.


	7. Playing with Brain Function for Fun and Profit

Strap yourselves in, it’s time for some questionable science in the pursuit of duct-taping the lore together.   
  
Today’s question:  
How the fuck does psionic testing actually _work_ in XCOM Enemy Unknown?

Okay, some disclaimers upfront:   
I’m not a scientist. My grasp on neuroscience is really, really basic. That’s gonna show here.

I also am running with The Bureau as canon, though you can make this work without it. That being said, there are spoilers for Hangar 6 R&D in here.

Now that that’s done, on we go!

So, the history. In the days before the 1960s invasion, the Bureau had already developed a gas capable of inducing psionic abilities for a given time post-exposure. DaSilva doesn’t have an Ethereal, but he has Battle Focus, Lift, and can deploy Blobs over the course of the campaign. He can also see the influence of Mosaic over the Sleepwalker currently being used in the test.

Given the Bureau’s general atmosphere, it’s unlikely they chucked this particular pharmaceutical to the side after the invasion. Even with data lost in the attack on Site X, backups probably survived. Additional tests were also likely carried out after the invasion, given the revelations about Ethereals and their abilities.

And let’s make something clear here: the Bureau is shown to be fine experimenting on its own people, even when the research is shady at best. There’s nothing far-fetched about this. If any records of the 1960s invasion and the work surrounding it, both before and after, then Vahlen likely is pulling from a body of research to design XCOM’s psionics testing program.

But what exactly is Vahlen testing for anyway?

In Enemy Unknown, the Sectoid Commander’s autopsy (codename: Rosetta, as in the Rosetta Stone, the key for unlocking ancient Egyptian written language and almost certainly not a lightly chosen name), Vahlen notes the Commander’s abilities are likely a result of “unusual activity in the synaptic connections” which are “capable of transmitting nerve impulses at nearly three times the normal rate.”

Vahlen also says this is likely a result of genetic manipulation. However, since gene modifications are not a prerequisite for psionics, this suggests that, at the core, psionic ability is tied to the nitty-gritty of neurofunctioning. Therefore, psionic testing likely involves finding candidates who can adapt to and sustain induced alterations in brain function.

If this is all sounds a little alarming, it probably should. 

So, how do you actually alter brain function in a (relatively) non-invasive way?  
  
Drugs are the first option. In this case, we have the compound from Hangar 6 and whatever alterations have been made to it. When I was originally contemplating this (which, for context, goes way back to before EEAE), I threw MDMA/psilocybin/something along those lines in there instead. Again, my knowledge of neuroscience is really basic, and your mileage may vary. However, since Bureau gives us a canon-substance, I’m gonna run with it.

And now, we plunge into the more … interesting side of things.   
  
Currently, there are ongoing studies surrounding transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Most of the clinical evidence is … questionable at best, thus far, but this is shady science and we’re not here for legitimate clinical uses. 

TDCS, though not in its current (no pun intended form) has been documented as early as 1801 [1]. It perked up again in the 1960s when it was proven the technique did alter brain function. My point is: it’s not _new_.

I’m gonna switch to quote the Wikipedia article here and presere the references to best explain how tDCS works:

One of the aspects of tDCS is its ability to achieve cortical changes even after the stimulation is ended. The duration of this change depends on the length of stimulation as well as the intensity of stimulation. The effects of stimulation increase as the duration of stimulation increases or the strength of the current increases.[3] The way that the stimulation changes brain function is either by causing the neuron’s [resting membrane potential](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resting_membrane_potential) to [depolarize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depolarization) or [hyperpolarize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperpolarization_\(biology\)). When positive stimulation (anodal tDCS) is delivered, the current causes a depolarization of the resting membrane potential, which increases neuronal excitability and allows for more spontaneous [cell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_\(biology\)) firing. When negative stimulation (cathodal tDCS) is delivered, the current causes a hyperpolarization of the resting membrane potential. This decreases neuron excitability due to the decreased spontaneous cell firing.[4][5]

And if you, like me, are left going “what does that even mean?”

Transcranial direct current stimulation works by sending constant, low [direct current](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current) through the [electrodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrode). When these electrodes are placed in the region of interest, the current induces intracerebral current flow. This current flow then either increases or decreases the neuronal excitability in the specific area being stimulated based on which type of stimulation is being used. This change of neuronal excitability leads to alteration of brain function, which can be used in various therapies as well as to provide more information about the functioning of the human brain.[3]

What’s important here is the fact that tDCS can achieve changes in the brain after stimulation has ended. Considering we’re talking about inducing a permanent change in neurofunctioning to induce psionics, that’s important.

The other candidate is TMS.

TMS is “a non-invasive procedure in which a changing [magnetic field](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field) is used to cause [electric current](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current) to flow in a small targeted region of the brain via [electromagnetic induction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction). During a TMS procedure, a magnetic field generator, or "coil", is placed on the [scalp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalp).[6]The coil is connected to a pulse generator, or stimulator, that delivers a changing electric current to the coil.[7]”

TMS has a much easier description of legitimate medical uses, especially as a diagnostic tool, but the big hoopla around it has been reports of increased mental acuity and creativity, especially when applied to certain parts of the brain. You can read the[ New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/savant-for-a-day.html) article from 2003 here or a more recent take from [Discover magazine](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/04/16/brain-stimulation-creativity/#.W4sSOX4pCgQ) here. Discover magazine also mentions the “DIY brain stimulation community,” which, as a side note, does not seem like something you should take up lightly as a hobby.

Again, key takeaway here is that both of these techniques alter brain function with minimal invasion (since we don’t see any wires, needles, etc. in the cut scene where the first psi operative is discovered). Misused or misapplied, it stands to reason they could also induce brain dysfunction (which could potentially explain Geist’s amnesia).

Psionic testing then, is probably using some combination of the above techniques over an extended period of time (testing is a ten day isolated procedure) to induce the desired brain functioning, a cessation of stimulation, observation if the altered function remains, then rinse and repeat. It’s also probably gradual and done under some degree of sedation (tDCS isn’t reported as painful but repeated TMS can be). At the end of the ten days, if neurofunctioning has been sufficiently altered, you get a soldier with the Gift (really, a very adaptable brain). If not, your soldier just had one hell of a trip while you screwed with their head on a fundamental level.

With regard to the implications this has on XCOM 2, I have one thing to say and one thing only: space magic.

 

References

[1] <http://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/chn/docpdf/parent_aldini.pdf>

[2] Albert, D. J. (1966). The effect of spreading depression on the consolidation of learning. _Neuropsychologia_ , 4.

[3] Utz, Kathrin S.; Dimova, Violeta; Oppenländer, Karin; Kerkhoff, Georg (2010). "Electrified minds: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) as methods of non-invasive brain stimulation in neuropsychology—A review of current data and future implications". Neuropsychologia. **48** (10): 2789–810. [doi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifier):[10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.06.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.06.002). [PMID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubMed_Identifier) [20542047](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20542047).

[4] Nitsche, Michael A.; Cohen, Leonardo G.; Wassermann, Eric M.; Priori, Alberto; Lang, Nicolas; Antal, Andrea; Paulus, Walter; Hummel, Friedhelm; Boggio, Paulo S.; Fregni, Felipe; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro (2008). "Transcranial direct current stimulation: State of the art 2008". Brain Stimulation. **1** (3): 206–23. [doi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifier):[10.1016/j.brs.2008.06.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2008.06.004). [PMID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubMed_Identifier) [20633386](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20633386).

[5] Nitsche, M. A.; Paulus, W. (2000). ["Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2270099). The Journal of Physiology. **527** (3): 633–639. [doi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifier):[10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.t01-1-00633.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.t01-1-00633.x). [PMC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubMed_Central)  _[2270099](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2270099) _ _._

[6]NiCE. January 2014 [Transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating and preventing migraine](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/IPG477)

[7]Michael Craig Miller for Harvard Health Publications. July 26, 2012 [Magnetic stimulation: a new approach to treating depression?](http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/magnetic-stimulation-a-new-approach-to-treating-depression-201207265064)


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